Thread: Taking a punt

With opening morning 1 sleep away, I've got myself sorted and the mind starts to wander.
I still hate having to use steel, it rules some of my favourite old guns out and doesn't do the business as well IMO.
The only sub gage where lead is still allowed is the 410 but are there other options?
What about a muzzle loading shotgun or a punt gun.
After a quick look at the regulations I can't find any reference to maximum size of bore or muzzle loaders for that matter, and shooting from a boat or canoe is allowed after opening weekend.
There is I suppose the daily bag limit to consider but 3 or 4 rowers, loaders, pluckers should fix that.
I am amused by the thought of a Rangers conversation regarding one.

shooting on the water is the fly in ointment there,,,,,,,
allowed up to 10ga I believe but dont think any bigger.
would be one hell of a lot of fun all the same....now for canada geese where there are NO RULES.....it could be VERY VERY interesting,paddle in to within 70 yards of mob and let rip with #BBs or #7 buck woooohoooo the carnage would be awesome.

Wrong for so many reasons but I like the sentiment

So just build a cannon then
Same thing and could shoot both shot and ball
Maybe stake out a paddock being bothered by pigeons or canada geese

Re shooting on the water, I believe it was done but the option of shooting when just on the wing gave the biggest bags of over 150. I would imagine if shooting them sitting the front ones would absorb a lot of the shot.
Anyhow my pederzoli will be getting an outing for a river walk at some stage, 90 grains of 2f, and an ounce and a quarter of no4s should get me something I reckon.
I hope I meet a ranger

I wonder about the legality of a 10 gauge volley muzzleloader
Is that still legal at 10 gauge ?
5 or 6 or more barrels with one shared ignition path
Just what ever high pressure tube you could find to bundle together

Or does it have to be shoulder fired to be legal ?
Gimble mounted you could have your shoulder there somewhere

Although I might be careful to have my face too near the back end of some of those old punt guns
I expect some were 1/4 or 1/2 pound charges and a massive shot payload

As a teenager I had a go at shooting them on the water. Made the classic mistake of aiming at the mob rather than an individual duck. Outcome was the whole lot of them took off unscathed.

in Keith Drapers book...a waterfowlers tail there is chapter on puntguns...makes for interesting reading....
you aimed above birds,clapped and fired as they rose up.

Just remember not to use plastic hulls or wads with BP, you will line the bore with a long thin plastic condom!! Cardboard components only!!
Duck shooting with BP is great fun, but hard to see the hit!

Surely if a gun was only BP proofed it would be legal even if not a front stuffer?

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

With opening morning 1 sleep away, I've got myself sorted and the mind starts to wander.
I still hate having to use steel, it rules some of my favourite old guns out and doesn't do the business as well IMO.
The only sub gage where lead is still allowed is the 410 but are there other options?
What about a muzzle loading shotgun or a punt gun.
After a quick look at the regulations I can't find any reference to maximum size of bore or muzzle loaders for that matter, and shooting from a boat or canoe is allowed after opening weekend.
There is I suppose the daily bag limit to consider but 3 or 4 rowers, loaders, pluckers should fix that.
I am amused by the thought of a Rangers conversation regarding one.

Thats a chap called Snowden Slights. He was a market gunner from East Yorkshire, not far from where I came to NZ from. Very famous among wildfowlers